Urban park opens on Bradford shopping centre site
- Published
A £300,000 temporary urban ark to replace a stalled shopping centre development in Bradford has been officially opened.
Work started in 2004 on the Broadway retail and leisure complex but developers Westfield later stopped it because of the recession.
The site has been put to community use until the economy recovers.
Councillor Ian Greenwood said Westfield and Bradford Council remained committed to the final shopping scheme.
Bulldozers moved in to begin work on the project five years ago.
All that remained was a vast empty space with piles of rubble from the buildings which had been cleared to make way for the new development.
Money from the council, Westfield and regional development agency Yorkshire Forward has enabled the area to now be transformed into a green space, which was opened on Friday afternoon.
Councillor Ian Greenwood said: "Westfield and Bradford Council remain committed to the final shopping scheme but in the interim, the Bradford Urban Garden makes the best possible use of the area.
"It is vital to the city's traders and communities that the site can be used temporarily as we wait for confidence to return to the country's retail market."